NYU Stern School of Business

Undergraduate College

MGMT-UB.0001.006 (C50.0001): MGMT & ORGANIZ ANALYSIS

Spring 2012

Instructor Details

Kilduff, Gavin

Course Meetings

Meeting time(s):TR, 11:00am to 12:15pm

Location:KMC 4-120

Additional Information:

Final Exam:

Schedule exceptions Class will not meet on: Class will meet on:

Course Description and Learning Goals

Why do some organizations succeed while others flounder? As students of business, it is critically important for you to have an understanding of the key factors that contribute to organizational success, and the role that managers play in helping their organizations be successful. The better that you understand these issues, the more effective you will be in your future careers.

The primary objective of the course is to help students understand the elements that contribute to organizational success, as well as some of the common impediments to high performance. We will focus on how organizations position themselves for success within their external environment, and how they organize and motivate their people. More specifically, the course will explore how organizational leaders develop winning strategies, and then design their organization in a way that aligns structures, social relationships, tasks, human resource practices, and people to achieve those strategies. In exploring these issues, we will identify the challenges that organizational leaders and managers face as they try to make good decisions in the face of a constantly evolving industry environment, competing goals and agendas, and an increasingly diverse and global workforce.

A second objective of the course is to strengthen students’ managerial and leadership potential by equipping them with an understanding of how complex organizations operate and of how effective managers operate. Regardless of your major or your future career plans, such an understanding will enable you to work more effectively within an organizational context, whether that context is a small start-up company, a family business, a large financial institution, or a non-for-profit institution. In other words, the course will provide you with tools and skills that you can use to increase your own personal career success.

The structure of the course encourages learning in multiple ways: through in-class discussions, exercises, case analyses, and team projects. These approaches provide opportunities for students to enhance their analytic and interpersonal skills, both of which are essential to effective management and to success in the workplace.

Course Outline

Session Day Date Topic

1

T

Jan 24

Course introduction & overview

2

R

Jan 26

Frameworks for Understanding Organizations

· Read: Learning by the Case Method (BB)

· Read & Prepare: Mount Everest—1996 (HBS Case)

3

T

Jan 31

Organizational Strategy: Competitive Analysis & Industry Analysis

· Read: Five forces (BB)

· Read: What is strategy (BB)

DUE:Online Survey (complete by midnight, link available on Blackboard)

· DUE:Bring to class two completed copies of your individual rankings for ‘After the crash’ – one for preparation credit, the other for the in-class exercise.

16

R

Mar 22

Leveraging Groups and Teams

· Read: Basic attributes of groups (BB)

17

T

Mar 27

CASE Competition Group #1: Army Crew Team (HBS Case)

18

R

Mar 29

Managing Individual Performance: Coaching, Evaluation & Feedback

· Read: Why it’s so hard to be fair (BB)

· Read: Actionable Feedback (BB)

19

T

Apr 3

CASE Competition Group #2: Rob Parson at Morgan Stanley (HBS Case)

20

R

Apr 5

Motivation and Incentives

· Read: Motivation: The not-so-secret ingredient (BB)

· Read: Motivating employees

21

T

Apr 10

Motivation and Incentives

· Read: Motivational benefit of goals

22

R

Apr 12

Managerial Psychology & Decision Making

· Read: Delusions of success (BB)

· Read: Cognitive biases and heuristics (BB)

· DUE:Decision making errors in Mt. Everest Homework

23

T

Apr 17

Power, Influence & Networks(Persuasion)

· Read: Harnessing the science of persuasion (BB)

24

R

Apr 19

Power, Influence & Networks(Power)

· Read: Power dynamics in organizations (BB)

· Read & prepare:Managing Xerox’s Multinational Development Center

· DUE: Team Project

25

T

Apr 24

Power, Influence & Networks(Networks)

· Read: TBD

· Managing Xerox’s Multinational Development Center – Continued

26

R

Apr 26

Team project presentations (all students required to attend)

27

T

May 1

Team project presentations (all students required to attend)

28

R

May 3

Final Exam

Required Course Materials

Course Blackboard (BB) site:http://sternnewclasses.nyu.edu – Lecture slides, announcements, and some course readings and materials will be posted on BB. You are expected to check the BB site regularly for announcements and upload assignments to the site.

Required readings can be found in 1) the course reading packet (“CP”) available at the NYU Bookstore and 2) on the course Blackboard site (“BB”). The course schedule (below) indicates where each reading is located and when it should be read.

Assessment Components

GRADING

Individual Work (65%)Team Work (35%)

Midterm Exam 18% Final Project 20%

Final Exam 20% Final Presentation 5%

Individual Essay 10% Team Case Analysis 10%

Participation 17%

INDIVIDUAL WORK (65%)

Midterm and Final Exams

This course has both a midterm and a final exam. The midterm will be held in class on March 8th, and the final exam will be held on the last day of class. Make-ups for the exams will not be arranged unless you have written documentation of an emergency that prevented you from being present during the scheduled test time.

Students whose class performance may be affected by a disability should notify me early in the term and make arrangements with the Moses Center (http://www.nyu.edu/csd) to accommodate their needs.

Individual Essay

Each student will write an essay. The essay should not exceed 800 words (roughly 2.5 pages double-spaced). The essay is due in class on February 28th, and will be explained in greater detail in class. Late assignments, no matter what the reason, will be subject to a 2% penalty for every six hours the assignment is late.

Class Participation

Class preparation and participation is evaluated based on attendance, involvement in class discussion, completion of homework, and fulfillment of the Organizational Research Assignment. Students who anticipate being absent from class because of religious observance should notify me in advance. Though attendance is a necessary condition for participation, attendance alone is not sufficient to do well on the class participation portion of the grade.

First and foremost, you are expected to attend every class on-time and be prepared to participate in discussion. Participation quality (thoughtfulness of comments or questions) is valued more than participation quantity (frequency of comments/questions), although some of the latter is clearly necessary. Quality in-class comments (1) go beyond the facts of a particular reading or case into why and how it matters, (2) provide links between the topic under discussion with other cases, lectures, or outside situations, or (3) extend, build upon, or constructively critique others’ contributions.

As part of your class participation, you will sometimes be asked to submit a short homework assignment related to the topic or readings day. Your answers on these homeworks will be scored a check-plus, check, or check-minus. Late assignments will be accepted up to two days after original due date for half credit.

You can obtain credit for the Organizational Research Assignment (2%) by choosing one of two options designed to enrich your understanding of the value of research to the formulation of sound management practice (as well as to the reputation of NYU Stern). Detailed information on the assignment is provided below.

TEAMWORK (35%)

Working in teams is an important part of this course. Although some class time may be devoted to working on team assignments, most of the teamwork portion will be completed outside of class. Students with serious time constraints are advised to register for this course in a semester when their schedule is more conducive to team meetings.

Students will self-select into six person teams by February 21stbased on their interest in studying similar organizations and scheduling constraints (Additional constraints on team size may depend on class enrollment – when in doubt follow the directions received in class). Students may change teams up until March 6th, but changing teams requires written permission of each member of the new team they are entering.

Final Project and Presentation

Student teams are required to complete a final team research project, in which they analyze various aspects of an organization of their choice. The goal is to apply course concepts, frameworks, and models to understand the organization in depth. The deliverables include: a 1-page executive summary of your report describing the organization your team has selected and the main course concepts you will be analyzing (due May 9th); a 10-minute presentation during the last week of the course; and a final report (due May 9th). Attendance is mandatory for allstudents during all group presentations. Teams may submit an optional 1-page draft executive summary for feedback from Prof. Kilduff on April 23rd. Additional information on the project will be distributed.

Team Case Analyses & Competition

Each team is also required to submit one short written case analysis (analysis + recommendations). For each case, there are analysis questions which will be outlined in class. These questions can guide your thinking and serve to frame your critical review of case issues. The case write-ups must not exceed 3 pages (double-spaced, with normal 1” margins). Appendices, tables and/or figures do not count toward the 3-page limit. Write-ups are due in class on the day of presentation, and should also be uploaded to Blackboard. No late assignments will be accepted.

In addition to the written analyses, teams will also make case presentations in class.Teams will be randomly assigned to present (and submit written analysis) on either April 17th or April 24th. Additional information on the nature of these presentations will be provided by the instructor.

Case presentations will be evaluated on the following criteria:

Quality of analysis

1.Address of key case issues

2.Use of literature to support claims

3.Effective recommendations

4.Originality and insightfulness of ideas presented

Quality of presentation

1.Clarity

2.Visual appeal

3.Time consciousness

FINAL GRADES

At NYU Stern we seek to teach challenging courses that allow students to demonstrate differential mastery of the subject matter. Assigning grades that reward excellence and reflect differences in performance is important to ensuring the integrity of our curriculum. In core courses, our faculty have adopted a standard of rigor for teaching where:

25-35% of students can expect to receive an A for excellent work

50-70% of students can expect to receive a B for good or very good work

5-15% of students can expect to receive a C or less for adequate or below work

Note that while we use these ranges as a guide, the actual distribution for this course (as well as each individual grade) will depend upon how well each student actually performs in this course. Please see www.stern.nyu.edu/undergraduate/grading"Teaching and Grading at the NYU Stern Undergraduate College” for more information.

REGRADES

In line with Grading Guidelines for the NYU Stern Undergraduate College, the process of assigning of grades is intended to be one of unbiased evaluation. This means that students are encouraged to respect the integrity and authority of the professor’s grading system and discouraged from pursuing arbitrary challenges to it. Typically, therefore, regrades are not provided. If, however, you believe that an error was made during grading, you may appeal the grading decision. This is only available for exams, as the individual essays and team projects do not have clear right or wrong answers.

In order to appeal an exam grade, you must write a memo describing the perceived error and submit it within one week of receiving the grade. Regrades may entail a review of your entire exam, meaning that your grade could decrease as well as increase. These policies exist to make grading as fair as possible across all students.

ORGANIZATIONAL RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT

The Organizational Research Requirement is worth 2% of your grade (see Class Participation section). Sound management practice is informed by academic research, where studies are conducted to examine basic psychological processes that play out in the workplace. In class we will discuss the research process in management and organizational science. You can obtain credit for the Organizational Research Assignment through either of the following two options (you choose Option 1 or Option 2 – you will not get credit for doing both), and it is designed to enrich your understanding of the value of research to the formulation of sound management practice.

Option 1: Subject Pool Lab Participation. The first option is participation in the Management Department Subject Pool. This gives you an opportunity to be part of management research in action and later evaluate it with the advantage of firsthand experience. With this option, you will be a participant in a 1-hour session of research experiment(s) currently being conducted by Management Department faculty. (Note that while the people running the studies are usually Ph.D. students or other research assistants, they are conducting the research for or with members of the Management Department faculty, who supervise them closely.) When you show up for a study, someone at the lab will seat you and record your attendance in the sign-up system so that you receive credit for this assignment, but note that your responses in the experiment cannot be connected to your identity in any way. Once these studies are finished, you will receive written debriefings.

Participation in the Subject Pool is easy and should be enjoyable for most students. It only requires signing up for a session, showing up at the Stern Behavioral Lab (Tisch LC-26), and following instructions. However, while the experiments are usually fun, you should take them seriously and provide honest and careful responses to all questions you are comfortable answering. Sign-ups will occur on-line several days before the scheduled experiments – which will run April 4 – 8. Please note that the web-based sign-up sheets do not reveal the identity of yourself or anyone else who will be participating in the experiment. I will announce when sign-ups become available for the experiment.

At the beginning the experimental session, you will be informed of what the study is about, what your rights are as a participant in the study, and any risks or benefits of participation in the experiment. You will be asked to read and sign a consent form, stating that you agree to participate in the experiment. You will be given one copy of the consent form to keep. If you prefer not to participate in the experiment or it you withdraw from the study once you begin, you may complete the research proposal assignment described below (“Option 2”) and will receive the same credit as if you had completed the experiment.

Please see me if you are under 18 and would like to participate in the lab research (“Option 1”) for your class requirement. It is a Federal law and University requirement that you provide a signed consent form from your parent or legal guardian before you can be a research participant. I will provide you with a copy of the parental consent form for each experiment, which must be read and signed by your parent or legal guardian. The form must then be returned to me prior to your participating in the experiment. (Note that you do not need parental consent if you this Research Proposal “Option 2” assignment described below.)

Option 2: Research Proposal Report. The other option is to write a research proposal. The assignment involves writing a report on a research proposal and will give you additional experience with organizational research and its application to management practice. The assignment is due the last day of the semester, May 9 by 5PM in my mailbox. No exceptions will be made, so please plan ahead.

To complete this assignment, refer to the article “Theory and research: Tools for learning about behavior in organizations” on Blackboard. Based on the material covered in class and that reading, this assignment involves developing a research question and designing a study (either an experiment or a survey) to test that research question. Your research question should draw on class material, current events, or personal experience, and any topic that is relevant to MOA is fine. Your question should also define the focus of the study you design and the report you write. Prepare a two-page report (double-spaced) that clearly describes your research question and the proposed study you would design in order to test your hypothesis, addressing the following questions:

1. What is your proposed question / hypothesis?

2. Why is it interesting and important for management practice?

3. How will you test your question (including the sample, research approach and design, data

collection and measurement)?

4. What are the strengths/weaknesses of this method for answering your question/ testing your hypothesis?

Note that you do not need to actually collect any data – just write up a description for a study that answers the four questions above.

Group Projects

Guidelines for Group Projects

Business activities involve group effort. Consequently, learning how to work effectively in a group is a critical part of your business education.

Every member is expected to carry an equal share of the group’s workload. As such, it is in your interest to be involved in all aspects of the project. Even if you divide the work rather than work on each piece together, you are still responsible for each part. The group project will be graded as a whole: its different components will not be graded separately. Your exams may contain questions that are based on aspects of your group projects.

It is recommended that each group establish ground rules early in the process to facilitate your joint work including a problem-solving process for handling conflicts. In the infrequent case where you believe that a group member is not carrying out his or her fair share of work, you are urged not to permit problems to develop to a point where they become serious. If you cannot resolve conflicts internally after your best efforts, they should be brought to my attention and I will work with you to find a resolution.

You will be asked to complete a peer evaluation form to evaluate the contribution of each of your group members (including your own contribution) at the conclusion of each project. If there is consensus that a group member did not contribute a fair share of work to the project, I will consider this feedback during grading.

Grading

At NYU Stern we seek to teach challenging courses that allow students to demonstrate their mastery of the subject matter. In general, students in undergraduate core courses can expect a grading distribution where:

25-35% of students can expect to receive A’s for excellent work

50-70% of students can expect to receive B’s for good or very good work

5-15% of students can expect to receive C’s or less for adequate or below work

Note that while the School uses these ranges as a guide, the actual distribution for this course and your own grade will depend upon how well you actually perform in this course.

Re-Grading

The process of assigning grades is intended to be one of unbiased evaluation. Students are encouraged to respect the integrity and authority of the professor’s grading system and are discouraged from pursuing arbitrary challenges to it.

If you believe an inadvertent error has been made in the grading of an individual assignment or in assessing an overall course grade, a request to have the grade re-evaluated may be submitted. You must submit such requests in writing to me within 7 days of receiving the grade, including a brief written statement of why you believe that an error in grading has been made.

Professional Responsibilities For This Course

Attendance

Class attendance is essential to your success in this course and is part of your grade. An excused absence can only be granted in cases of serious illness, grave family emergencies, or religious observance and must be documented. Job interviews and incompatible travel plans are considered unexcused absences. Where possible, please notify me in advance of an excused absence.

Students are responsible for the course materials, including lectures, from the first day of this class, forward. It is the student's obligation to bring oneself up to date on any missed coursework .

Participation

In-class contribution is a significant part of your grade and an important part of our shared learning experience. Your active participation helps me to evaluate your overall performance.
You can excel in this area if you come to class on time and contribute to the course by:

Providing strong evidence of having thought through the material.

Advancing the discussion by contributing insightful comments and questions.

Late assignments will either not be accepted or will incur a grade penalty unless due to documented serious illness or family emergency. Exceptions to this policy for reasons of religious observance or civic obligation will only be made available when the assignment cannot reasonably be completed prior to the due date and you make arrangements for late submission in advance.

Classroom Norms

Arrive to class on time and stay to the end of the class period. Chronically arriving late or leaving class early is unprofessional and disruptive to the entire class. Repeated tardiness will have an impact on your grade.

Turn off all electronic devices prior to the start of class. Laptops, cell phones and other electronic devices are a distraction to everyone.

Stern Policies

General Behavior
The School expects that students will conduct themselves with respect and professionalism toward faculty, students, and others present in class and will follow the rules laid down by the instructor for classroom behavior. Students who fail to do so may be asked to leave the classroom.

Collaboration on Graded Assignments
Students may not work together on graded assignment unless the instructor gives express permission.

Course Evaluations
Course evaluations are important to us and to students who come after you. Please complete them thoughtfully.

Academic Integrity

Integrity is critical to the learning process and to all that we do here at NYU Stern. As members of our community, all students agree to abide by the NYU Stern Student Code of Conduct, which includes a commitment to:

Exercise integrity in all aspects of one's academic work including, but not limited to, the preparation and completion of exams, papers and all other course requirements by not engaging in any method or means that provides an unfair advantage.

Clearly acknowledge the work and efforts of others when submitting written work as one’s own. Ideas, data, direct quotations (which should be designated with quotation marks), paraphrasing, creative expression, or any other incorporation of the work of others should be fully referenced.

Refrain from behaving in ways that knowingly support, assist, or in any way attempt to enable another person to engage in any violation of the Code of Conduct. Our support also includes reporting any observed violations of this Code of Conduct or other School and University policies that are deemed to adversely affect the NYU Stern community.

The entire Stern Student Code of Conduct applies to all students enrolled in Stern courses and can be found here:

To help ensure the integrity of our learning community, prose assignments you submit to Blackboard will be submitted to Turnitin. Turnitin will compare your submission to a database of prior submissions to Turnitin, current and archived Web pages, periodicals, journals, and publications. Additionally, your document will become part of the Turnitin database.

Recording of Classes

Your class may be recorded for educational purposes

Students with Disabilities

If you have a qualified disability and will require academic accommodation of any kind during this course, you must notify me at the beginning of the course and provide a letter from the Moses Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD, 998-4980, www.nyu.edu/csd) verifying your registration and outlining the accommodations they recommend. If you will need to take an exam at the CSD, you must submit a completed Exam Accommodations Form to them at least one week prior to the scheduled exam time to be guaranteed accommodation.